Sleep
by Ann-Stripes
Summary: "Daddy, there's a monster in my closet."


**Sleep**

"_Daddy, there's a monster  
in my closet"_

* * *

She hadn't immediately told her father that something was wrong. She had waited first, waiting for the thing to leave first, or for her brother to chase it away. But her brother hadn't noticed it and the monster wouldn't leave her. She could not stand it anymore. She was tired of spending the week awake, barely catching any sleep because she was scared of the shadow.

"Daddy," she said, pleading and worried eyes. "There's something in my closet."

Her dad had looked up from his work papers that lay on the kitchen table and looked at his daughter, dressed in pajamas and clutching her doll. She looked unsure and scared which made her dad jump in excitement. Normally she would go to Karin or Ichigo first. The man stood up and and had given her the brightest smile he could muster, opened his arms and exclaimed: "Don't worry, my beautiful little daughter! Daddy is here to fight the monsters!" He got on his knees and ruffled his girl's hair. "Just scream when you're attacked and I'll come save you." What a great honor it was for her to rely on him instead of his –seemingly more loved- son. He toppled over when his other daughter kicked him in the back.  
"You'll only scare it to death with your hideous face." Karin muttered and reassured Yuzu that she would protect her, if not, Ichigo. Yuzu had nodded and gone to bed together with her sister.

She hurdled herself up in her blankets despite the cold sweat that had covered them. It was hot, even though it was a chilly winter night, and her pajamas lay long forgotten on the floor. She laid on her side and stared straight at her sister who had fallen asleep first. She wanted to sleep next to her, but the fear prevented her from moving, let alone stepping out of bed.

It was unknown to Yuzu if Karin felt it too. It must be, she thought, because Karin had a much greater seeing ability than her, but If her sister _did_ notice anything, she had not let it show in front of her.

The thing Yuzu was afraid of took home either in her closet or beneath her bed -as these were the spots monsters usually hide. She could feel it's dark presence emitting from the door, spreading his energy through the room, but not where it lay. Sometimes she could see it in the corner of her eyes, but nothing more and when she turned her head to look at it, it was gone. She dared not to search for it longer than a second and when she spotted it she would turn her head towards her sister again. It felt hideous, like a vast emptiness, darker than the shadows in her room and presumably bigger than the house. As she saw it, she immediately closed her eyes and looked away, not wanting to look at the monterous fear that wanted to devour her.

Not even her brother's presence could pinch through the dark cloud that was this monster. Hollow, it felt and hollow it was. Not quite like the ghosts she had encountered and who her brother would fight, but a hollow feeling. Death, decay, loneliness and hunger. It would lurk over her and stroke with it's claw over her head, as if to mark her.

The thing was cold and made her shiver over her entire body. That's why she was now covered from head to toe in her blankets which protected her from that cool air.

Sometimes she could hear the thing. Sometimes it whispered, other times it hummed and often it let out a low cackle, as if laughing at her defenceless being. The sounds were as if carried by the wind, low and soft. It's voice alone made her want to cry out. She clutched her blankets and waited for the thing to enter her room. It was already in the house. The little girl knew better than to let her guard down. If Karin wasn't afraid, then neither was she.

Finally, the girl closed her previous wide open unblinking eyes, her weariness taking the better of her, and fell into a deep sleep full nightmares. Most of them concerning her brother and monsters.

Unknowing to her, the thing entered her room.

* * *

It had been a long time since Ichigo had gotten a good night rest. Between running up and down between school to fight hollows he had been tired to the bone. It hadn't been different at night. He hadn't the time anymore to just lay down and close his eyes for a second. Hollows were more active at night, he had found.

He wondered if he could get some time off for once, or if they could at least put in a faster Soul Reaper to do the job as that afro dude wasn't the quickest soul of all and the hollows were normally long gone when the man finally arrived at the crime scene. In the end, Ichigo had to chase it down and finish the job.

Luckily for him, the hollows had kept relatively quiet lately and the ones who did show up were no match for the town's original Soul Reaper. Ichigo had never slept this much during his time as Soul Reaper substitute and he quite enjoyed it, despite the vague nightmares he was having. Still, he couldn't quite catch his sleep tonight and tossed and turned around in his bed. Damn cold, he thought. After what seemed hours, he could finally peacefully lay his eyes to rest. As he drifted off, the boy didn't notice the spiritual presence seeping out of him –as it did most nights- and stretch through the house, putting a blanket over his family.

Just like every other night, something else made it's way through the house.

The thing ignored Ichigo and lingered for a moment as it passed by the oldest member of the family, but quickly drifted off to the room where the two sisters slept. With ease it passed through the door of the room as it was not an organic being and only a shadow. Seeping around the room for a bit, it spotted the two girls lying in their beds. One moved around in her bed and the other lay perfectly still, terrifying almost, with her body tensed as if she could jump out of bed any time. The thing felt sorry for the girl as her fear seeped out and engulfed the room. It had been like this for the past week. It almost struck him how the girl lay so perfectly still, but still asleep and covered with fear. What could be so horrible to let a girl so young her age be so on her guard, even in sleep? Was it only a nightmare, or was it something different? Was it school, bullies or fear for the older boy the shadow had seen lying in his bed? It wished it could follow her.

The thing watched the girl for a moment before deciding to stay for a while, watching and guarding the girl, protecting her from what could come. He would stay with them.

_Something feels not right_, the creature thought, but waved it away. He was here now, he was protecting the girls. The shadow calmed in the presence of the sisters and felt the connection between the family members they had. It could not help but feel a little jealous. For the moment it could not remember if it had any connections of his own. This made something stir inside of the being. Why did this bother him?

Leaving it's spot between the two beds, it made it's way over to the frightened girl. The thing stretched out a hand, but decided against it. Surely the girl didn't want to be touched by any stranger, seeing the way she was all bundled up in her blankets. The thing stepped back to the door and leaned against a closet before watching the sleeping kids further. He let out a bit of his energy and cloaked the sisters in his presence.

It felt dreamlike, as if he wasn't supposed to be here. They felt vaguely familiar to him. Somehow, he knew the girls names were Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki, even though he couldn't remember introducing themselves to him. He knew that Yuzu took care of the household and that Karin was the sports type. The thing frowned. How did he know them again? He remembered the house and the people in it, but only as if through the eyes of someone else. He only recognized them of their spiritual presence, not through faces. The thing only remembered their blurry versions.

It moved silently to the other girl as if walking through air. Something was missing. His arms and torso felt heavy. Something inside of him hurt, he did not know what.

The girl beneath him did not seem to be disturbed as she slept quietly, rolling over once in a while. Letting out a soft laugh, the thing smiled. Karin had always been the toughest of the two. It reached out a hand and stroked the girl over her hair. The girl tensed and clutched her blanket. As if receiving a shock, the thing pulled it's hand back and looked worried at the girl. Karin was shivering at the touch of an unknown cold and let out a soft whisper. Inquisitive, he closed the distance between them and hovered over the girl. His ear turned to her voice and catched up a soft whine.

"Ichi-nii."

An overwhelming sadness overcame the shadow. Why did she call for her brother? He was here now, right? He walked a step back and looked away from her. Now she was scared too. Maybe it wasn't the bullies or school, he realized. Maybe it was him.

It's hands felt cold. He studied them and felt himself being awkwardly out of place. He was the only purely white shape in the room, but his energy was black and covered him like a cloak. Yuzu couldn't see as well as her siblings and would probably only see the spiritual presence. The white shadow balled his hands to fists, leaving half moon imprints in his palms, and held them close to his side. Still being in a dream-like estate, he could not feel his sharp black nails cutting in his palm.

He had to leave them, he realized, but refused to acknowledge. The mask he was wearing felt strange on his face, as if it suddenly was present and if he only now was aware of it. For a last moment he looked at the sisters while touching the skull that covered his face. He bit his lip hard, but no blood seeped out, and looked down. He knew he couldn't stay too long close to them. It gathered the spiritual energy he had seeped out in the room and left the girls alone.

The shadow turned around and walked through the wall into the hallway where he could no longer see and frightened girls.

Rubbing his pure white fingers over the edges of his mask, he remembered. He remembered why he had come here every night, why he watched over them an unintentionally scared them. He remembered his mask and remembered Ichigo. He remembered what was missing from him.

The hollow looked at Ichigo's door that read the number 15 and walked through it.  
Outside, the sun had begun to peak it's way over the horizon.

It's time to wake up.

* * *

Thanks for sticking to the end! I wonder if anyone can make sense of this story.

A oneshot for now, but maybe i'll continue it ?


End file.
